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Online marketing in 2012 could be summed up in a few words:
mobile,
big brands and Google updates. As we look back at the events and
advancements that shaped last year in online marketing, naturally
we should look forward and wonder what 2013 will have in store.

Here are my top predictions for what I believe marketers will be
focusing on in the New Year. While the execution of all this
might vary wildly, there is no doubt a few areas will capture our
attention and be the driving forces behind business decisions
over the next 12 months:

Last year we were tasked with making our websites mobile-friendly
-- meaning responsive and easy to use on mobile devices -- but
this year will be all about offering value in mobile app form.
What value can your brand or client offer a mobile device user?
It goes beyond ease of use and searching ability. This type of
value will be in new information, new formats for consumption and
entirely new resources.

2. The evolution of 'attribution modeling': Last
year was one heck of a year for analytics. We saw the rise of
analytics packages and solutions, breaking down channel silos and
marketers taking a more holistic approach to what's called
attribution tracking -- the process of assigning a specific value
to a marketing action that results in a conversion.

Marketers have been over valuing the last click. We know now it’s
more complicated than that.

This next year, we will see continued evolution in attribution
modeling and creative approaches to tracking how channels affect
each other. I anticipate the large analytics providers out there
will continue to innovate on their current
offerings as well as open them up to the rest of us.

3. The rise of gamification: Applying
game-design thinking to non-game applications to make them more
fun and engaging has been growing steadily, but expect it to
reach a tipping point in 2013. Big brands, new startups and every
company in-between will be spending more money and resources on
"gamifying"
their products and services this year. The rise of easy-to-use
platforms, such as BigDoor and PunchTab, and the inherent value of an
engaged user, have made this a must-consider marketing
strategy.

4. An increased focus on 'inbound marketing':
With the growth of social marketing, marketers now must
invest in adding a new kind of value. Enter "inbound
marketing,” a type of marketing in which brands spend
resources to create content, conversations and valuable
resources that draw customers to their products or websites
without paid marketing.

Your budgets this year should include more spend on amazing
content, beautiful web design and inbound analytics. Expect to
see new software, and upgrades to existing tools, to help you
better manage your inbound marketing efforts and prioritize your
next steps.

5. Improved data visualizations: I believe there
will be a renewed focus on beautiful data visualizations in 2013,
which is the way we visualize complex data sets in easy to
understand formats that are worth sharing. Last year we saw big
data catch fire, but this year we will need to make that data accessible to everyone.

Perhaps more importantly, the marketers you work with or employ
will need to question the ways they’ve made their data cases in
the past. How can they use new visualization software and
techniques to evangelize a data-driven culture, and make your
marketing mission a company-wide one?

6. More loyalty marketing: By now, we are all
pretty aware that it is more costly to acquire a new customer
than to retain an existing one. Add to that how consumers have
never before been so connected and willing to share opinions
of purchases and experience. Guess what you get? Marketers
brainstorming creative ways to make customers feel appreciated
and satisfied. What was once an afterthought should now find
its way into the early stages of marketing roadmaps.

7. Brands as social influencers: Thanks to
platforms such as Pinterest, Facebook and Foursquare, we've seen
brands build followings of unparalleled size, which has left them
with legitimate influence over consumers. In 2013 we will see
brands continue to grow their communities and the reach of their
voice, opinions and products.

Marketers should be asking themselves, “Where are we
participating?” and “What value are we offering?” It's ideal for
a brand to build an audience of engaged participants around the
great content it shares. If you're not sure where to start, go to
the sites you know where people are already talking about your
brand. Jump in and engage.

8. More analytics: As we see more marketing
channels in play and an improved ability to understand how they
all touch, I predict marketers will be seeking out new ways to
prioritize their many opportunities. Unlike traditional web
analytics -- the measurement of how your website is performing --
marketing analytics is the measurement and
optimization of your marketing activities.

Businesses will turn their efforts to marketing analytics to
steer their product roadmaps, hiring plans and market moves.
Rather than invest in the channels that you’ve always invested
in, this year the tools should become available to make better
decisions.

9. Design is king: Piggybacking the growing
importance of inbound marketing and the trend in improved data
visualizations comes a rising of the bar around web design. With
designer community sites like dribbble and forrst, we’ve seen the design community
grow in leaps and bounds. Beautiful design has never been so
affordable and in demand. To stand out in 2013, strengthen
your in-house resources or contract a team to get your website
design up-to-speed.

10. Local marketing goes mainstream: Local
companies have never before had so many tools available to
understand how to improve local search results, engage with
customers and measure their success. Sites like GetListed have made local marketing easy
to track and manage, at a price small businesses can afford.
This New Year will only bring more, and improvements to those
already out there. That is why I believe we will see local
marketing demystified for the masses, and more successful
small businesses as a result.